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This blog’s tagline includes the phrase, “Be encouraged.” I latched onto that thought early on, when I was determining just exactly what I wanted to communicate to folks who were simply discouraged. I know full well that most of our lives are centered in the thought, “It’s all about me.” That isn’t exactly a bad thing unless taken to an unhealthy degree. If you aren’t encouraged personally, it’s hard to be an encourager to someone else.

So, moving out of the realm of being a self-centered clod, thinking the world owes you something (it doesn’t), let’s suppose that we’ve reached a place that we can consider what kind of difference we can make in the life of someone else.

I have an odd aspiration – I’d love, when I meet and interact with people, for them to leave our time together thinking that getting to visit with me was the high point of their day. I hope you don’t interpret that as me being cocky, arrogant, or self-serving. I simply want to be a bright spot in a dark place. I can do that best by being an encourager. What does that look like?

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe said, “Correction does much, but encouragement does more.” I like that. In my dealings with students, my default attitude is “I need to straighten you out.” But a more appropriate attitude might be, “Let me come alongside you and prop you up.”

What does that look like? Here are three possible reasons you are called to be an encourager.

1. Your encouragement might be just the thing to keep someone else going. We’ve all had the experience of being in a total funk. You forlornly think, “No one understands me. I don’t even understand myself.” I know, right? So, providentially, your path crosses someone else’s. You may or may not know what demons they’re wrestling with. I’m not a believer in coincidences, and I believe that God engineers what may seem like random encounters. You don’t have to swoop down on someone and with a quiver in your voice, say “I care about you.” That can be sort of creepy. Rather, just exercise what I call “the gift of presence.” Just being there communicates your care and concern. If it’s appropriate, you might ask “How are you really doing?” And MEAN it. You can’t fake empathy. Then listen – really listen. Don’t stand there rehearsing what you want to say when they aren’t talking. You might just be a life preserver for someone one day.
2. God is a God of encouragement. You are made in His image. Get it? Romans 15:5 fits here: “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus.” It doesn’t take too much of a leap to realize that you can be an encourager because God is an endless source for all you need. Your role is simply to mirror what He’s done for you. Imagine that – you can be a little piece of Jesus. If you’re a believer, that’s part of your calling.
3. You have the advantage of seeing things others might not … you can offer hope because you see reason to be hopeful. This may seem tricky, because you may not be in the best of places yourself right now. But latch onto this: The world you now see is not the world that will always be. Here’s a sobering yet encouraging thought: For the non-Christian, this world is as good as it ever gets. But for the Christian, this is as bad as it’ll ever be. It may be tempting to look at the darkness all around and be bleakly discouraged. I’d encourage you to remember that the end is in sight and the best is yet to come. That should encourage you personally, and you can in like manner encourage those around you.

I hope this helps you think deeply about your purpose in life. Being an encourager is part of your purpose. Don’t forget that. You got this. You can be encouraged by being an encourager yourself.